1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tunnel form.
It also relates to the utilization of the tunnel form, particularly the method for stripping said tunnel form.
2. Description of Related Art
For the construction of concrete buildings, it is standard to pour the lateral walls at the same time that the upper slab is poured.
The tunnel or tunnels thus produced are then fitted with separating walls that are non-load bearing in order to delimit apartments.
For this purpose, forms known as tunnel forms are used.
This form exists in the form of two vertical forming walls joined at their top parts by a horizontal forming wall so that the assembly forms an upside down U.
A brace maintains the geometry of the form, and adjusting means make it possible to adjust the height of the form and the verticality.
Normally, the vertical forming walls have a height slightly lower than the desired height between the floor and the ceiling, in order to allow stripping.
Extending from a lower slab called a reference surface, in line with the positions of the vertical walls, a kicker of relatively low height, on the order of ten centimeters at most, is produced, making it possible to position the base of the vertical forming walls of the tunnel form and to close the interstice that exists between the base of the vertical forming wall and the reference surface on which the tunnel form rests.
This kicker is produced by placing L-shaped parts at the top part of the tunnel form.
The slight difference between the height of the forming wall and the distance between the floor and the ceiling makes it possible to strip the tunnel and extract it after having acted on the height adjusting means.
Generally, after the form is put in position on both sides of the walls to be produced, concrete is poured in order to fill in the vertical spaces delimited by the forming walls and to form the top slab which, when it solidifies, will constitute the reference surface for a higher floor.
After the concrete of the vertical walls and the top slab are hard enough, the tunnel forms are stripped.
To do this, by acting on the technical elements that maintain the geometry of the upside-down U, the top forming wall is detached from the top slab produced, and also, by acting on the height adjusting means, the top of the tunnel form is lowered by several centimeters and then extracted by being rolled away.
These height adjusting means are limited to an amplitude of a few centimeters.
For some time, architects have maintained the practice of constructing buildings with height differences among the stories and hence having different floor/ceiling heights.
Builders must therefore use tunnel forms wherein the size of the vertical walls is adapted to the height of each story of the building.
This increase in the number of forms obviously creates excess costs, since the forms cannot be used full-time.
Moreover, due to cost concerns, it is not possible to use very many forms of different heights.
There are existing forms that make it possible to adapt the height of the vertical forming wall.
In order to do this, the vertical wall is in two parts, a bottom part of predetermined height and a top part used for the adjustment, and it is this top part to which the horizontal wall is attached.
The set-up/takedown times are prohibitive.
The object of the invention is specifically to eliminate this drawback.
To this end, the subject of the invention is a tunnel form comprising:
two vertical forming walls joined by a horizontal wall in two parts assembled with fastening means,
at the base of the form, means for adjusting the height of the position of the top edge of the tunnel form relative to the reference surface, and means of support at least indirectly with the reference surface so that it can be extracted from the tunnel after the production of said tunnel,
this form being characterized in that the aforementioned height adjusting means are supported by props, each slide-mounted in a sleeve attached to the base of the tunnel form.
Another subject of the invention is the utilization of the tunnel form, and particularly the method for stripping said tunnel form